STAFF REPORT
SAN SABA – Few saw this coming. At least not to this degree.
The Cisco Loboes, ranked No. 10 in Class 2A Division I by Harris Ratings Weekly, ran roughshod over the No. 5-ranked San Saba 48-6 in a football game circled on calendars since schedules were announced nine months ago.
The win gave the Loboes (7-3 overall) the District 4-2A DI championship with a 5-0 record and extended their 10-year district winning streak to 55 games.
Cisco had two rushers top 200 yards Friday as quarterback Hunter Long ran for 213 yards and touchdowns of 39 and 2 yards. Running back Jerrod Fisher rushed for 209 yards and three TDs of 4, 19 and 75 yards. Cisco finished with 555 yards rushing and averaged 10.5 yards per carry.
“Our offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage,” said Kevin Stennett, Cisco’s first-year head coach. “We like to ground and pound with fresh running backs. And our quarterback played extremely well tonight.”
San Saba was missing three starters because of injuries and COVID-19, including linebacker Landon Yarbrough. Also for San Saba, safety Logan Glover didn’t play after halftime, and running back Stone Sears didn’t play much on offense in the second half.
“That’s not an excuse,” Andreas Aguirre, San Saba’s second-year head coach said of his team’s injuries. “We didn’t play ball. We needed some guys to step up tonight, and we didn’t get it done. There’s no one to blame but me.
“We’ve got to get ready to play next week. We’ve got to put this game behind us, starting with burning the film. We have to get healthy, and we have to train harder.”
San Saba (7-2, 4-1) will play Forsan in next week’s bidistrict game tentatively set for Friday at Wall. Cisco will play Stamford next week in bidistrict.
In addition to their offensive prowess, the Loboes’ defense manhandled the Armadillos at the line of scrimmage. San Saba back Stone Sears and quarterback Risien Shahan both have been effective runners this year, but Loboes got into the backfield and stopped the Armadillo runners for no gain or negative yardage on 11 of their 23 attempts.
Sears, who came in averaging 149 yards rushing per game, was limited to 1 yard on eight carries. Shahan, who was averaging 7.2 yards per carry, was held to 10 yards on 11 carries.
“We flew to the football, and we were very physical,” Stennett said of his defense. “Sears is a very patient runner. We squeezed through the gaps and shot through the holes in the line. That allowed us to control their athletes.”
The Loboes scored on their first four possessions, including touchdown runs of 4 and 19 yards by Fisher, to take a 27-0 halftime lead. Cisco added touchdowns on its first two possessions of the third quarter on runs by Long and Andrew Acosta to make it 41-0.
“Our offensive line has a lot of speed, and they don’t ever give up. Even when they’re hurting, they get back up and go on to the next play,” said Long, who also threw an 11-yard scoring pass to Tre Brackeen.
After losing three nondistrict games to Class 3A teams, Cisco has rallied to win its 10th consecutive district championship.
“We started out this year with a young team, and those three losses (to Wall, Jim Ned and Comanche) actually made us better. We did nothing but keep getting better,” Stennett said. “We learned to limit our mistakes. We made some crucial mistakes that were the turning points in some of those losses.
“But when we limit our mistakes like we did tonight, we’re a pretty good football team.”
San Saba avoided being shut out for the first time since 2016 when Shahan threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Wesley Lackey with 3:22 left to play. Shahan finished 11-of-15 passing for 106 yards, but six of his completions went for 5 yards or less.
Cisco 48, San Saba 6
Score by Quarters:
Cisco 6 21 14 7 — 48
San Saba 0 0 0 6 — 6
First Quarter
CI — Jerrod Fisher 4 run (kick failed), 3:50
Second Quarter
CI — Tre Brackeen 11 pass from Hunter Long (Layne Edgar kick), 11:53
CI — Fisher 19 run (Edgar kick), 6:42
CI — Long 39 run (Edgar kick), 2:08
Third Quarter
CI — Andrew Acosta 1 run (Edgar kick), 10:54
CI — Long 2 run (Edgar kick), 7:44
Fourth Quarter
CI — Fisher 75 run (Edgar kick), 11:16
SS — Wesley Lackey 13 pass from Risien Shahan (pass failed), 3:22
Cis SS
First Downs 23 6
Rushes-Yards 53-555 23-38
Passing Yards 32 106
Total Yards 587 144
Comp-Att-Int 3-4-1 11-15-0
Punts 1-23 7-42
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 3-20 1-5
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Cisco – Hunter Long 18-213, Jerrod Fisher 15-209, Layne Edgar 2-82, Andrew Acosta 11-56, Hunter McCoy 4-3, CJ Lewis 1-2, Team 2-(-)10. San Saba – Wesley Lackey 4-27, Risien Shahan 11-10, Stone Sears 8-1.
PASSING: Cisco – Long 3-4-1 for 32. San Saba – Shahan 11-15-0 for 106.
RECEIVING: Cisco – Lewis 1-15, Tre Brackeen 1-11, Fisher 1-6. San Saba – Reagan Mija 4-58, Izaah Bessent 2-14, Drake Bryant 2-12, Lance Taylor 2-7, Lackey 1-13, Logan Glover 1-2.
RECORDS: Cisco is 7-3 overall, 5-0 in District 4-2A Division I. San Saba is 7-2, 4-1.